Spiritus Urbs
by FenceGate
Summary: For five years, Arthur Kirkland has been monitoring the supernatural activity in his town. A series of weird events start at the beginning of Arthur's school year, throwing his organised and secretive life into chaos. Description will change as plot progresses. RE-WRITE IN PROGRESS.
1. Chapter 1

Cora

 **This is an idea I had, but I don't know whether I should make it a proper story... so I decided to just post the first chapter and see what the response is. If using Pluckley Village (a real location) and using the ghost legends for my own purposes offends someone, would you please let me know so I know to always use fictional settings? Thanks.**

 **I'm a bit rusty, I haven't uploaded anything onto FanFiction for a long time, so please let me know if I am doing something wrong- I feel nervous, actually!**

* * *

 _Pluckley Village,1858._

A small group of lawmen, armed with rapiers and early versions of guns had finally cornered the highway man that had been terrorising aristocrats in the area for months. Up until now, Beilschmidt had managed to evade the law but his luck had finally run out, thanks to an anonymous tip. The highwayman had been found, waiting in the shadows of Fright Corner, most likely aiming to attack Lady Mei as she returned from her trip to her relatives' manor.

Armed only with a small pistol and dagger, the lawmen had thought that Beilschmidt wouldn't stand a chance, but they had underestimated him. The highwayman put up quite the fight, managing to evade most of his enemies' attacks.

Lady Mei and her maid Camille had been warned by the lawmen further up the road and were now waiting for someone to return and tell them the coast was clear. Suddenly, a gunshot ran out, startling the two women.

"I'm scared, my lady." Camille whispered, tugging on her long brown braid.

"As am I, Camille." Mei replied, placing her hand on her maid's shoulder. "But we must have faith in the captain and his men. They are risking their lives for us, and others who could be in our position. They have more men than Beilschmidt, they will win."

A second gun shot rang through the area, making Camille whimper.

"Alright, Beilschmidt," the captain said, panting. The pistol in his hands smoked slightly, and the blood staining Beilschmidt' s clothes indicated that it had met its mark. "It's over."

The infamous highwayman was on his knees; his two weapons being guarded by another one of the lawmen. " _Mein Gott,"_ he wheezed. "This really is the end, isn't it? Alton… _Es tut mir Leid_... "

The captain pulled out his sword, and in one thrust he dealt the blow that would end Beilschmidt' s life.

* * *

 _Pluckley Village, 2016_

Arthur watched in horror as the group of men cornered the albino on Fright Corner. There was some yelling, and some cursing, and a gunshot. However, none of these seemed to affect the man with white hair. If not for the crimson for the crimson patch on his shoulder, one would think he was completely unharmed.

"Mr. Beilschmidt!" snapped Arthur irritably. "Can you please stop with this racket?"

"Sorry Artie!" cackled Beilschmidt, stepping out from the group. The translucent lawmen continued on fighting, as if he was still there.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Your noise is disturbing the locals! I'm having a rough enough night already without you making the headlines for ghost hunters again!" He muttered a few words under his breath. The lawmen glowed a light green before disappearing, however Beilschmidt remained on the corner, looking quite out of place with his long black leather cloak with its high collar.

Beilschmidt scowled. "Your no fun, Artie! You don't understand how boring being dead gets! I have to entertain myself _somehow!_ Can you just let me accompany you tonight? I promise I'll be good!"

"No." Arthur replied immediately. "You're a pain to haul around, and anyway, my rounds are almost over tonight anyway."

"I bet you let Dicky go with you." Beilschmidt grumbled.

"No, I don't." Arthur replied. "But maybe I should start letting him come along. Maybe it would serve as a lesson to you…"

"But I could help you!" protested Beilschmidt. "If you come across some trouble I could lend you a hand! I'd like to see Dicky do that!"

"I've never needed help before." Arthur replied. "So I doubt I' need help now!"

"But Artie!" Beilschmidt whined. "You said so yourself- everything's a bit restless at the moment."

"End of discussion, Beilschmidt." Arthur answered in a no-questions tone of voice. "You are not coming with me."

The ghost scowled before disappearing in a flash of silver light.

Arthur sighed. The ghost did have a point. He often wished someone would come with him on his rounds, but his pride just wouldn't allow the help. Especially from one such as that insufferable highwayman.

 _'_ _I'll just go check the pub before going home.'_ Arthur thought. ' _After all, school starts tomorrow so I better not sleep in.'_

* * *

When the teen entered _The Blacksmith's Arms_ , he was greeted by absolute silence. It was late at night, so it appeared that everyone had either returned home or retired to their rooms on the top level- apart from that one guy sprawled on the floor, sporting a nasty cut on his forehead. The man had obviously had too much to drink.

The temperature in the room chilled suddenly, and Arthur smiled slightly, for before him in the room, three ghosts appeared. One of the ghosts was in a thick arm chair, staring intently into the fire.

The only female ghost followed Arthur's stare and shrugged. "Oh, I wouldn't mind Lars, Arthur. He's just thinking."

"He's always thinking!" snickered the other ghost, wearing a cavalier's uniform. "Anyway, I'm off, nice seeing you, Arthur!"

Arthur chuckled. "Goodbye, Henri. And how are you faring tonight, Bella?"

"Oh, it's been just great." Bella replied, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Just the same old thing since I died." The Tudor maid smoothed down her apron. "Although, a fight did start between two fellows a couple of hours ago, so the day wasn't a complete bore. But enough about me, you knew what I was going to say before I asked."

Arthur sighed. "It's that Beilschmidt again. He's just been a bit restless these past few days."

"Oh, I wouldn't be too harsh on Gilbert." Bella consoled. "He's just lonely, being stuck on Fright's corner. I feel quite bad for him. I was very lucky, you know. When I died, I was all alone, but then Lars had his accident and Henri appeared here a few years later. It's such a comfort having others to talk to in the same predicament. No offense intended."

"It's fine." Arthur replied smoothly. "I admit that I am rather jealous that you can get along so well."

"Ah, you're thinking of your brothers, aren't you?" Bella said knowingly.

Arthur nodded. "We just have nothing in common."

Bella giggled. "You're quite right. In fact, I believe that Allistor was partially responsible for the disagreement that took place here this evening. You two are very different."

Looking down at the unconscious man, Arthur sighed again. "He needs to control himself."

"We're almost like siblings now," Bella commented, thinking of Lars and Henri. "Maybe you all should just try to understand each other more?"

"Perhaps." Arthur replied doubtfully.

"Now go!" Bella exclaimed, a fierce look entering her green eyes. "You have school tomorrow!"

"Ah, you're right." Arthur admitted. "I'll see you next time, then?"

"I'll be here."

* * *

"You got home quite late last night, didn't ya, Arthur?" Dylan chuckled. He was the only one of Arthur's brothers who hadn't yet left school, however this year would be his last, him being a year older than Arthur.

"Well, so did Allistor." Retorted Arthur, rubbing his eyes as he made himself some breakfast. "He's twenty two, he needs to get a job instead of hanging around in taverns and pubs."

"But he's twenty two." Dylan replied, slinging his back pack with a red dragon over his shoulder. He'd had it since he was twelve but the Welsh dragon had grown on him and Dylan had kept in top condition. "I'm off, got ta meet with Liam before school starts."

"I don't know how he can stand you." Arthur commented as Dylan left the house, and the seventeen year old followed a few minutes later. He wasn't met at school by anyone in particular, just acknowledged by the few who had been in his classes the previous year.

Romano and Feliciano Vargas, Alfred Jones and his step brother Matthew Williams, Yao Wang and his half-brother Kiku Honda, Francis Bonnefoy and Antonio Fernandez-Carriedo, Arthur's nemesis and rival since he was seven, Teresa Bonnefoy, Francis's sister who had been pushed up a few grades, Ivan Braginski and Matthias Khøler, Berwald Oxenstierna and Tino Väinämöinen "The Nordic Gang" were his classmates this year. They were mostly the same from last year, excluding the Vargas twins who had moved to Pluckley Village from Italy during the holidays and… the last name on the list made Arthur pause. Gilbert Beilschmidt. He blinked, and when Arthur looked again it actually read _Ludwig_ Beilschmidt.

The morning passed without a fuss, and Arthur discovered he had missed the company of some of his classmates. But not Francis, that git was going to continue being a pain all year, Arthur could see it. Kiku had always been a friend of Arthur's but had never had any close friends and Arthur was pleased to see him being acquainted to Feliciano and Ludwig. Matthew was trailing his much louder brother all day, and Arthur thought to himself for the umpteenth time that if the Canadian being dragged around by either his brother that the boy could be a ghost.

Lunch was when it all went square shaped. Arthur was enjoying his meat pie when a familiar cackle reached his ears.

"Kesesesesese! I'm so AWESOME!"

Arthur leapt up in surprise, and followed the sounds of obnoxious laughter to the swing set that was supposed to keep younger children like his younger brother, Peter and his cousin Wendy entertained. There, swinging joyfully on the swings, much to the oblivion of everyone else, was the albino highway man.

"Beilschmidt." Snapped Arthur irritably, eyeing his peers to see who was paying attention. "Why are you here?"

"Oh, hey Artie!" Gilbert, if Bella was right, said. "I was just doing my _boring but awesome_ thing this morning when a nice little birdie told me I could come with him to school."

Arthur frowned, who in their right mind would let such an arrogant German- no, Prussian, as Gilbert liked to boast, follow them around all day? That brought him to the next question- someone else could see the supernatural, and he never knew. Unless it was one of the new kids, but, no offense to them, they _weren't_ the right kind of people. Romano and Ludwig wouldn't believe what was right in front of them and Feliciano was the type to be easily persuaded into thinking he was making it all up, which would cost him his ability.

"Ah, birdie!" called out Gilbert suddenly. "Are those pancakes!"

"Y-yes." Stammered a timid voice from behind Arthur. Matthew had just approached the pair, and was nervously looking between the two.

"Wait…" Arthur realised. "Matthew, can you see Beilschmidt?!"

"Do you mean Gilbert?" Matthew replied, handing Gilbert one of the pancakes, making Arthur and Gilbert's eyes widen. "Yeah, I can. I was just walking to school, and everyone was ignoring me, and then I saw him getting the silent treatment from some fellows and asked whether he wanted to come with me."

Gilbert leapt of the swing and put his pale hand on Matthew's head. "Aw, you're so nice birdie!"

"Matthew…" Arthur rubbed the back of his neck, a habit he'd picked up from his other brother, Connor. "Beilschm- Gilbert isn't- he isn't."

Gilbert sighed. "I'm not alive, birdie."

The mood had suddenly shifted, allowing an awkward silence to surround them. Everyone else in the playground was either unaware or didn't care which made things easier but at the same time worse for the trio.

"W-what do you mean you're not a-alive?" stammered the smaller teen.

"I'm a ghost birdie." Gilbert said, looking almost… sad. "Arthur… would you…"

Arthur knew when he wasn't wanted, and although he wasn't completely sure what Gilbert's intentions were, he had the feeling that Matthew wouldn't come to any harm. He slipped away, just as Matthew stammered out his next question- "T-then why can I touch you?"

Matthew didn't return to class for the rest of the day, much to the disbelief of Alfred and others who had known him for a while.

"Yo, Iggy!" Alfred called, using the terrible nickname that he had used when he was five which had somehow stuck. "Where's my little bro?"

"He wasn't feeling well." Arthur lied. "Matthew said he was heading home."

"My little bro sick?!" Alfred said incredulously. "Well, I never… Dude, that's weird!" But nevertheless he didn't question it.

 _I'll have to check he's safe after school._ Arthur decided. _If something happens to Matthew, it'll be my responsibility._ He had a lot of trouble concentrating on the last two lessons of the day, maths and art. He kept thinking about Matthew. Was the other boy also a medium? If he was, he'd need help to stop other ghosts in the area from seeking him out. While Arthur had "tamed" so to speak, most of the ghosts like Gilbert, Henri, Lars and Bella, there were still a few rogues that showed up every now and again.

The other thing was about Ludwig. Was he related to Gilbert in some way? _If he is,_ Arthur realised, _Gilbert may start acting unpredictably._ Which meant that he had to baby sit two humans and a ghost for a while. Once again, Arthur wished he could have someone to share the load of his work and not judge and would understand his troubles and beliefs.

He wouldn't have to wait long.

* * *

Cora

 **With Arthur's class, they are mostly male, but please just remember that there really aren't enough female characters in Hetalia.**

 **Please, please, please let me know whether I should continue this story! I think it would be fun, but I want to know whether anyone else out there would be interested in reading this. I do have a plot or two in mind already, so I wouldn't get a writers block or anything... I think I'm rambling...**

 **Okay then, have a great day! I'm looking forward to hearing what you think. Constructive criticism, please, I really don't want to experience flames again... Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Cora

I **was really happy and surprised with the amount of feedback I received from the first chapter, thank you all so much!**

 **I put in some effort to finish off this chapter for you guys, but I'm worried it won't live up to your expectations! Hopefully I will be able to get into the swing of things again.**

* * *

Pluckley _Village, 1964_

"I'm finishing up for the night." A man with pale blond hair and blue eyes said to his companion, a heavily built Cuban man. He dusted off his hands on his overalls and started to pack up his tools. "I'll be back tomorrow, Carlos."

Carlos grinned, and continued laying down clay on the wall the pair were creating. "Okay, Dicky. You know, I think we'll get this done tomorrow!"

"Yup!' Richard 'Dicky' Buss said, giving Carlos a grin of his own. "Don't keep on working much longer, it's getting dark."

"Righto." Carlos said. "I'll just finish this section then."

Richard nodded. "Alright then, seeya!"

"Seeya!" Carlos continued to add to the tall wall. He had climbed higher and further up the slightly rusty ladder, and it was darkening at a fast pace. "I should probably pack up now." Carlos said aloud to himself. "It's getting dark and I won't be able to see what I'm doing soon."

He put his tools in their case and started to climb down the tall ladder. When he was halfway down, he miscalculated his step and slipped, sending his tools, ladder and body into the still setting brick wall.

Carlos could do nothing but stare as the structure he had worked so hard on came tumbling down on him.

* * *

 _Pluckley Village, 2016_

Arthur didn't get the chance to go looking for Matthew or investigate Ludwig because some of the locals were complaining about the screaming man again. Arthur's job was to try and keep Pluckley Village low profile so he had to take care of the screaming man first.

The screaming man's real name was Carlos Machado, and he had died in a building accident a fair while ago. Normally Carlos was peaceful and he was rarely disruptive however sometimes he would have violet flashbacks of the moment he died. All ghosts experienced this, but most were okay with it (like Gilbert, who used it for entertainment) but others couldn't handle it. This was why people would sometimes hear screaming coming from where he died.

Arthur wasn't someone who knew how to comfort people when hurt or upset, so when he had to calm down ghosts it often took a while, which was why Arthur was only leaving to go look for Matthew and Gilbert four hours after they had been seen last.

"Thanks again, Arthur." Carlos said, now cheerful, slapping the teen on the back. "You do a good job for all us dead folk."

"Any time, Mister Machado." Arthur replied, glancing at his watch briefly.

"Now, how many times have I told you just to call me Carlos, Arthur? I never got old enough to be a mister." Carlos grinned. "I can see it in your face. You gotta be somewhere?"

Arthur nodded. "Yes. There's a boy at my school and it turns out that he can see ghosts as well. He disappeared with Gilbert Beilschmidt a couple of hours ago and his family are starting to get worried because he missed out on some school."

"Well, you better head off then." Carlos cried cheerfully. "But, Arthur, don't worry. As dangerous a reputation he has, Gilbert wouldn't hurt an innocent kid."

"That's great to hear." Arthur replied.

"Well then, I'll see you next time then?"

Carlos smiled again. "Hopefully just for a social visit, sorry about today."

"It's fine." Arthur said.

"Um, Arthur…" Carlos looked embarrassed. "If this kid turns out to be able to see us, could you maybe bring him around? You know, just for a chat? A new face?"

Arthur smiled at the Cuban ghost. "I'll see what I can do for you, good bye, Carlos!"

Even though Carlos had said that the former highway man wouldn't hurt Matthew, Arthur wasn't going to take any chances. The first place he was going to check was Fright's Corner, and if Gilbert and Matthew weren't there, he'd have go and check the popular haunts of ghosts, maybe check if they were with the School Master or with Gordon Bonnet, two ghosts that Gilbert really liked to annoy.

Thankfully, Arthur didn't need to continue his search past the place where Gilbert died. He found the two sitting cross legged on the grass, talking and playing with what looked like a small white dog. The other thing Arthur noticed was that several townsfolk were eyeing Matthew with a weird look on their face, probably because they couldn't see who Matthew was talking to.

Gilbert was the first to notice Arthur's arrival. "Hey, Artie!"

Matthew turned around, and smiled. "Arthur!"

"Matthew, Beilschmidt." Arthur greeted. "And how are you?"

"Great!" Gilbert replied. "Me and Birdie have been having a great time! I'd almost forgotten what it was like to have friends…" The ghost had a dreamy look in his eyes, which prompted Matthew to continue.

"I'm sure he considers you as a friend, Arthur." The blond boy said.

"Oh, don't fret, Matthew." Arthur said offhandedly. "Beilschmidt and I we just aren't quite the compatible sort."

"Ah, okay." Matthew looked down.

"Matthew, Alfred is getting worried." Arthur said softly. "You need to go home. I'll accompany you if you want."

"Oh, really, I didn't realise…" Matthew's gaze fell on the albino ghost. "Um…"

"It's fine, Birdie!" Gilbert cackled. "Gotta live every moment. Go see your family, kiddo. Just… come back and see me, okay?"

"I will!" Matthew said, giving Gilbert a hug. The pair seemed to have bonded in the incredibly short time they knew each other. The little white dog made a sad sound, and looked between Matthew and Gilbert. Arthur allowed himself to smile, it really was touching how they got along.

"Keep him, Birdie!" Gilbert said cheerfully. "He's a stray, so I don't think anyone will mind. It's not like I can look after him, being dead and all."

"Thanks Gilbert." The Canadian said shyly. "Bye, I'll see you tomorrow. Come on Kuma… Jiro."

As they walked away, Arthur thought about what he could say to his classmate. Sometimes Arthur forgot they were the same age, with the way Matthew would shrink into himself.

"Arthur…" Matthew was the one to ignite the conversation, so Arthur had to strain his ears to hear him properly. "Have you known Gilbert… long?"

Arthur knew this was a way of asking 'how long have you been able to see ghosts?' "I should be asking you the same thing, Matthew. However, I'll tell you that I've always been able to see the supernatural. It was a trait I inherited from my… late mother."

"Oh." Matthew said. "So you've seen them all your life?"

Arthur nodded. "And you haven't?"

"No…" the smaller boy replied. "Just recently have I been noticing weird things going on around me that I've never seen before. And then I met Gilbert…"

"How are you faring?" Arthur interrupted quietly. "It is quite a lot to take in."

"Eh…" The Canadian rubbed the back of his neck. "It was a bit of a shock at first, you know, about Gilbert, but then it all just seemed to make more sense. Why I had never seen him around before and everything. I think we both appreciated the company today… He's a really interesting perso-" he caught himself. "Ghost."

"Beilschmidt is quite the character, isn't he?" Arthur chuckled. "But I must warn you that ghosts can sometimes be a little… unpredictable, so don't ever let your guard down completely."

Matthew frowned. "I get the feeling that Gilbert wouldn't hurt me."

Arthur tilted his head slightly to the side. ' _Perhaps_ _Matthew is a Clairvoyant?'_ "I see… anyway, this is your house, isn't it?"

Matthew looked up, surprised that they were already home. "Ah, yes. Thank you Arthur… I'll see you tomorrow, eh?"

"Indeed." Arthur replied formally. Relaxing a little, he smiled. "Maybe tomorrow you and I could visit a friend of mine?"

"And by friend do you mean…?" Matthew pressed.

"Ghost. I think the pair of you would get along!" Thinking of Carlos, and his earlier request, Arthur decided to try and organise something for his ghostly charge.

Matthew took a moment to think about it, but nodded. "Yes, that should be fine. I don't have anything on."

Arthur smiled a genuine smile, but it faded quickly. "You know that you probably shouldn't tell anyone about this, right?"

"No one in my family would believe me." Admitted Matthew. "They would probably send me to a psychiatrist if I were to say anything to them."

"Great! I'm pleased you understand. I'll see you tomorrow then Matthew…"

* * *

School passed by in a haze for Matthew. Only yesterday had he been unaware of the other side of his town and his classmate Arthur. Only yesterday had he met the ghost of a highway man, Gilbert.

Matthew had woken up in the morning, and he believed that the events of yesterday had been a dream. He had breakfast with his brother as per normal, and left the house much earlier than Alfred. As he passed Fright's Corner, Kumakuro had bounded up to him, and Gilbert had appeared.

"Off to school, birdie?" Gilbert asked.

"Yes, I am." Matthew replied. "It's only Tuesday. After school, Arthur's taking me to see someone. Someone… you know."

"Oh, I see." There was a touch of disappointment in his voice. Matthew felt guilty, he wanted to spend more time with his new friend but he'd already given his word to Arthur. "Well, that is fine. I'll see you later, then, Birdie?"

Matthew nodded eagerly. "Sure."

The morning lessons passed by uneventfully. The most interesting event would have been when Ivan Braginisky had tried to convince their new teacher to 'become one with Mother Russia.' For as long as Matthew had known Ivan, the Russian had had an odd obsession with that phrase. As far as the Canadian knew, no one knew what it really meant.

Gilbert dropped in to say hello during the lunch break, but Arthur had gotten angry, saying that Gilbert really shouldn't be roaming around so casually. Matthew was disappointed, but he assumed that there was a good reason why. Arthur knew what he was doing, after all.

Finally, it was time for everyone to go home, and time for Arthur to take him to visit one of his ghostly acquaintances. They reached their destination, an abandoned building site, without much conversation. Arthur appeared to be about to call out, but in a soft flash, a tall man appeared, wearing worn yellow overalls.

"Mr Macha- Carlos." Arthur greeted. "How are you today?"

"Fine since yesterday, thanks Arthur." The man spoke with a faint accent, Matthew had a feeling the man was originally from the lower regions of North America. Sometimes the amount of foreigners, his family included, occupying the small English town astounded him.

"Well, Carlos, the boy I spoke briefly about yesterday is here." When speaking with the ghosts, Arthur seemed so much older. Matthew had noticed it when his blond class mate had conversed with the German ghost as well. "Matthew has kindly agreed to talk to you this afternoon."

"Where?" Carlos asked.

Matthew sighed, he was used to it by now. "Here, eh."

Carlos's eyes widened, and he turned to face Arthur once more. "What the hell, Arthur?! This guy!? No way!"

"I don't understand, eh." Matthew replied softly.

Arthur seemed to share his confusion. "You know Matthew?"

"Yes, I do!" The Cuban, if Matthew had come to right conclusion, seemed almost _angry._ "This kid comes 'round here after school and annoys the hell out of me! Sometimes he even throws rocks at me, the insensitive brat!"

"But I've never been here before…" Matthew sighed, realising what had happened. Now he knew why Alfred was often back late after school. "You may be thinking of my brother, Alfred."

"Is that his name then?" Carlos frowned. "So if you ain't him, you… sorry, kid. I'd give ya some ice-cream but..."

"It's okay." Matthew smiled. "I'm _Matthew_ Williams."

Carlos stuck out a dirty hand. "Carlos Machado. Nice to meet ya, Matthew."

Matthew and Carlos seemed to get along very well, and once again, Arthur had to be the one to separate them. (The Canadian was incredibly good at getting along with ghosts, Arthur was willing to say- privately -that he was better with ghosts than with real people. Arthur could relate.)

Matthew, Carlos, and Arthur separated on the promise that Matthew would come to see him after school a couple of times every fortnight. Both seemed pleased with the new company, and Arthur was just glad that Matthew could get along with the sometimes-aggressive Cuban.

"He died fifty or so years ago in a building accident. Locals and ghost hunters call him the Screaming Man." Arthur explained quietly once they were out of Carlos's immediate line of sight.

"Why?" Matthew asked curiously. "Is he… violent?"

"Good heavens, no." Arthur chuckled. "Mr Macha- Carlos experiences… flashbacks, I suppose, of when he died. All ghosts get these."

"That's terrible…" Matthew said sympathetically.

"Some are perfectly fine with it." Admitted Arthur, shrugging. "Like Gilbert, for example. But Carlos… often needs a bit of help calming down…"

The bespectacled Canadian turned to face his classmate. "Arthur… would I be correct in saying that you are hoping I could help you with that? Please don't be angry!" Matthew held his hands up in defence.

Arthur scratched the side of his face awkwardly. "I suppose that is true. I think you know that I'm… not the type to comfort, Matthew?"

Matthew made a small noise of agreement in return. "But do you think _I_ can?"

"Most likely." Arthur paused. "Your connection to the ghosts is different to my own, and if you would be willing to lend me a hand if Carlos needs help…?"

"Of course! If I can help Carlos, or Gilbert even, just give me a call." Matthew did not hesitate in pulling a page out of one of his text books in his bag to scrawl down his number, so Arthur could call him if needed.

Arthur took the paper hesitantly, surprised that Matthew had responded in such an enthusiastic manner. "Thank you Matthew. Before you go home, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Do you know if your brother can see ghosts as well?" Arthur frowned. "Because if Carlos said was true…"

Matthew made a face. "I'll see if I can find out. From what I heard, it sounds like Alfred is a bit mean to Carlos."

"Indeed. He may not realise that Carlos is dead, and that could cause both of them some trouble. I can trust you to look into this right?" Arthur sighed. "I feel as if I'm asking too much of you. You didn't know about this until yesterday, and here I am asking you to do so much…"

"Arthur!" snapped Matthew, rare irritation in his eyes. "It. Is. Fine. I'm just happy I can help out and make friends."

The two parted ways so they could go home. Matthew thought of Carlos and Gilbert the entire way.

"Yo, Mattie, dude, welcome home." Alfred greeted at the door. "You finally made some friends?"

"Ah… yes." Matthew replied. "Something like that."

Alfred gave him a pat on the back. "That's great for you, man. Now, I wonder what we're having for dinner…?"

Matthew couldn't help wondering- could Alfred really see ghosts as well?

Did Matthew _want_ to share this new part of his life with his brother?

Maybe he wanted to keep it a secret.

* * *

Cora

 **I just want to thank** Angelkace **,** Starwig II **,** poshcinnamon **,** the Oracle of Akemi **,** DemigodBooks **,** Fangirl99 eveyami **,** Kira-writer **,** Rayline Li **and** anime and yaoi 4ever **for reviewing, following and/or favouriting my story. I really appreciate it.**

Starwig II **and** poshcinnamon- **Thank you so much! Your words were really kind and motivated me to finish this chapter. I hope it lived up to your expectations, and that you will continue to read** Spiritus Urbs **!**

 **Finally, there is a poll on our profile asking about who you would like to see introduced next. This is to help me decide which plot arc to go with (each choice has it's own mini-plot, and I want to choose which one to start with) so it depends on who you would like to see play a major part in the next few chapters of this story, so please vote!**

 **Thank you, and everyone have a great evening!**


	3. Chapter 3

Cora

 **Unfortunately, this chapter is mainly filler. Nevertheless, please enjoy!**

* * *

 _Pluckley Village, 2016_

Arthur was surprised with how well Matthew was coping. It had been a week since the Canadian had discovered the existence of ghosts.

Matthew decided to visit Carlos again, and that had gone well. Well enough, after Matthew had established that he wasn't Alfred, that is. Carlos hadn't had one of his flashbacks since that time, so that was a good sign. Arthur had hoped that Matthew could act as Carlos's anchor to reality, and so far it was working.

Alfred had started to notice his brother's constant eagerness to get away as soon as he could. Most of the time he was heading the infamous Fright Corner to do who knows what. The American honestly couldn't understand the new development in his brother's life. They had done everything together since their parents had married when they were five, and it was very new for Alfred to have no idea what Matthew was up to.

On Friday, Matthew received a call from Arthur. It came just before seven o'clock, so the blond haired Canadian had to excuse himself from the table earlier.

 _"_ _Matthew?"_

"Arthur?" Matthew replied, unsure as to why his new friend would be calling. "Do you need help with something?"

 _"_ _Actually, I do…"_ Arthur sounded hesitant, as if he was unsure about what he was about to say. _"I'm terribly sorry Matthew, but my brother has decided to have us stay in Hothfield for the next week. I wasn't aware of this until Allistor told us yesterday."_

"So what can I do?" Matthew asked. "I'll do anything I can to help."

 _"_ _I feel bad for asking this of you, Matthew, but would you be able to go around the town every second night, just to make sure everything is in order? You can take… Gilbert with you if you want."_

Matthew grinned from the other end of the phone. "Sure! Where do you want me to go?"

There was a pause, as Arthur considered his words. _"Thank you Matthew, this makes things so much easier! Well… You'll need to check up on Carlos every now and again, to make sure that he's okay, and keep an eye on Gilbert. The two of them tend to be quite noisy sometimes. They are the two ghosts that normally cause the most trouble, but just make sure that there aren't any disturbances elsewhere. Gilbert can show you the most common spots."_

"That sounds fine." Matthew nodded, pleased that Arthur trusted him with such a job. "You can count on me, Arthur! Would you like me to take notes for you at school as well?"

 _"_ _Oh, that would be great."_ In addition to his normal hesitance, there was relief in Arthur's voice. _"I'm sorry to spring this upon you suddenly… I- "_

Matthew cut him off. "Normally I'm the one apologising all the time! Arthur, I'm just glad I can help okay?"

 _"_ _Well…"_ If he was there in person, Arthur would have been looking anywhere but at Matthew's face. He had always done things alone. _"Thanks again Matthew, I'll let you get on with your evening."_

Staring at the silent phone, Matthew silently cheered. He had been trusted with an important job by one of his classmates!

"Dude, who was that?" Alfred asked when Matthew re-joined the family at the table.

"Arthur. He's going away for a few days and wants me to take some notes for him in class and stuff." Matthew replied, leaving most of the details out.

"He's one of the Kirkland boys, isn't he?" Marianne Williams commented. "That's very kind of you, Matthew. Be sure to be neat when you take the notes, don't write in scribbles." Matthew's biological mother gave a pointed look to Alfred, who shrugged while simultaneously consuming another mouthful.

* * *

Just after Arthur had finished his phone call, Dylan barged into his room. "Are you excited?"

"No, and you know why, Dylan." Arthur refused to meet his brother's eyes. "We haven't been there for years. I don't know what Allistor is thinking…"

"Maybe he thinks it's time." Dylan paused. "This is hardest on Connor, Arthur. We need to be there for him."

Arthur nodded. "I plan on coming, don't fret."

Dylan grinned. "Great! Well, I'm going to go and make sure that Peter's all packed…"

* * *

This was Matthew's first run around town, and he had Gilbert accompanying him, lest he get lost.

"Have you done this before, Gilbert?" the quiet Canadian asked his obnoxiously loud friend.

"Nope! Artie never lets me tag along…" Seeing Matthew's worried expression, Gilbert laughed. "Kesesese, don't worry birdie! I know were everything is. We're not going to get lost. You said we have to go see Carlos, right?"

Matthew nodded. "Yes. Arthur said that he might have a panic attack, and I may need to calm him down."

The ghost immediately became more serious. "Carlos has got it tough, you know. He should have lived a long life. He doesn't deserve to go through all that pain time and time again."

"Um, Gilbert…" Matthew hesitated, wondering whether he was prying. "Arthur told me how Carlos died, but… I don't know about you. I don't mean to pry, I just want to know more about you…!"

"Oh, that." Gilbert shrugged. "I knew you'd ask eventually Birdie. It's no big deal. I was killed by some stingy lawmen. I was a highwayman, you know. An awesome one!" He unbuttoned his thick coat, showing Matthew a crimson wound in his side. "All ghosts have a reminder of how they died, mine is just more visible."

Matthew suddenly felt very uncomfortable for asking. "I'm sorry, Gilbert."

Gilbert waved his hand, laughing it off. "Kesesese, it's no big deal! It was a very long time ago. Now… where does Carlos live again?"

Matthew sighed. He had a feeling that this was going to be a very long night.

* * *

It was now Friday. Matthew had separated all of his work into two neat, separate folders, one for Arthur and one for himself. He was now starting to walk home. The Canadian didn't plan on going around town that night. That was when Arthur called him again. Matthew was surprised honestly, in all the time he had known Arthur, this was the most contact they'd had in a single week.

"Hey, Arthur." Matthew answered his phone. "How has your… family trip been going."

 _"_ _It's been fine."_ Arthur said shortly, before changing the subject. _"How have you been handling everything?"_

"I think I've been fine." Matthew replied. "I've been out twice now, and everything seems quiet. Well, apart from that one time up on Maltman's Hill. There was like this carriage that sped through there last night. No one else seemed to see it, but it was really noisy."

 _"_ _Did you have Gilbert with you?"_

Matthew nodded, forgetting that he was on the phone. "Um, yeah."

 _"_ _I see. Well, don't worry about that, Matthew."_ Arthur said. _"Just avoid Maltman's Hill until I get back. The ghost that lives up there doesn't… take well to others ghosts trespassing up there."_

"That'll be fine." Matthew replied. "So it was a ghost?"

 _"_ _Yes, it was…"_ There was a moment of silence, before Arthur spoke again. _"Matthew, this wasn't exactly why I called you."_

Matthew laughed quietly. "I had a feeling that was the case. So, what do you need?"

 _"_ _Well… You know how Carlos said that your brother had antagonised him in the past? If your brother also possesses the gift to see ghosts, it's important we know. Would it be alright if you take him to see Carlos or Gilbert this afternoon? That way we know for sure?"_

Matthew frowned, and kicked a clump of dirt near his foot. He didn't really want to share this part of his life with Alfred. "Do I have to…?"

 _"_ _Unfortunately, yes."_ There was sympathy in the Brit's voice. _"Am I correct in assuming that you don't want your brother involved."_

"Yes." Matthew confessed.

 _"_ _Well, I certainly can relate."_ Arthur chuckled from the other end of the line. _"None of my brothers are aware of what I do after dark. I have a feeling that they think I am part of some gang or cult! Listen, Matthew, I also have my reservations about Alfred, however, Carlos is my friend as well as yours and if your brother is causing problems for him, we really should try to help him out."_

"I hadn't thought of it like that…" the Canadian said guiltily. "I suppose you're right, I'll go with him to see Carlos when I see him next!"

 _"_ _I'm sorry to bother you again, Matthew."_ Arthur said for the umpteenth time. There was a noise in the background, like someone was yelling. _"Unfortunately, if you need something, you may need to ask Gilbert, Carlos or Bella. I won't be able to answer your calls for a couple of days… I need to be able to support my brothers tomorrow."_

Matthew didn't know who this Bella was, or what was so important about tomorrow to Arthur's family, but Matthew was polite and didn't want to pry. In a way, he had learnt his lesson with Gilbert. "Okay, sure, Arthur. I'll see you when you get back, eh?"

Saying his goodbyes, Arthur left the phone. Matthew sighed, and returned the silver device to his pocket. He would honour Arthur's wishes and take his brother to visit Carlos, although he still wasn't completely happy about it.

Before he knew it, Matthew was back at his house, being greeted by the energetic Kumakerri who had been allowed to stay in the Jones-Williams household until his owner was found. Matthew doubted that that would ever happen, so Kumajiwa was as good as theirs.

"Al!" he called as he entered the hallway. "Al!"

"What is it bro?" Alfred said, materialising at the entrance to the room where he kept all of his video games. "You need advice on how to deal with girls?"

"Wha-?" Growing flustered, Matthew shook his head vigorously. "No, no, not at all Al! I was just wondering whether you'd like to go somewhere with me."

Alfred frowned. "I dunno bro… my game's pretty intense."

As much as Matthew was tempted to leave the American alone, he had to persuade his brother to come to help his new friends. "Please, Al? We don't spend much time as brothers anymore…"

Staring into Matthew's puppy dog eyes, Alfred relaxed. "Then let's go Matt! Our brotherly relationship is like, ten times more important than some lame video game, anyway. Lead the way, bro!"

All of Matthew's bitter feelings and reservations disappeared. Even though they argued a lot, and had very different friend groups, Matthew and Alfred were incredibly close.

"Thanks Alfred." Matthew smiled at his brother, and absentmindedly, scratched Kumakiki behind his fluffy white ears. He opened the door to the outside world, and motioned for his brother to go through first. "This way!"

* * *

 _Pluckley Village, 1504_

A young girl of seventeen was staying at 'The Ghost's Arms' in Pluckley Village until the most recent dramas calmed down. Her best friend, Lady Jane Grey, had been crowned Queen a few days ago, and lots of rumours were circling the nation. Her other friend, Camille, had recommended the place for its quaint and polite locals, and had not so subtly hinted that this place may be the place for her to find love, just like Camille herself.

"Ah… Camille, you were right…" the emerald eyed girl murmured aloud, enjoying the soft music of a violin, enjoying a simple meal. "You were right." Suddenly, a murmur from one of the young ladies nearby caught her off guard.

"The Queen has been convicted of treason," one girl said.

The other gasped. "Really?"

The first nodded. "I heard from my cousin who lives nearby the palace. She is to be beheaded in two days. High treason is such a serious crime; my cousin believes that she was conspiring against Mary's plans."

The blond haired Tudor girl couldn't stand to hear anymore. She had just learnt that her best friend was going to die so very soon, and she was unable to say goodbye. Feeling tears forming under her eyelashes, she excused herself from the table to retreat to her room to privately grieve.

However, before she reached her room, she was stopped by a man's voice. "Are you Bella Jacobs?" he asked.

"Yes." Bella sniffled, wiping at her eyes, but not turning to face the man. "Who are you?"

The man did not answer, but responded with another question, or rather, statement. "You must be very upset about Jane Grey."

"She was my best friend! And now… now she's going to die!" Bella cried, turning to face the man.

All Bella saw was the eerie glint of sharpened silver before she knew no more.

* * *

Cora

 **Thank you for all the response I received for the last two chapters. It means a lot, and motivates me! For the first time in a long time, I'm pushing myself to attempt a one-chapter per week schedule _which will succeed_ (positive thinking!) So thank you all! **

Kitsunes-Chan **,** Magician of Khemet **,** Scottish Hills **,** Irie Momoe **,** LetheTree **and** DMockingBird **\- Thank you for favouriting and/or following! This story is receiving a lot more attention than what I originally thought it would received, so this really means a lot!**

Scottish Hills **,** Starwig II **,** LetheTree **and** AnimeLover **\- Thank you so much** **for your kind reviews! They were all so nice! I'm glad you like this story so far.**

 **Please vote on the poll on my profile. I have enough material up in my head to write one more chapter before I need to move on to one of the three mini-plots that are represented by a Hetalia character on this poll. So again, please vote!  
**

 **Please review, thank you!**

EDIT 21/10/16- **I've just moved Bella's backstory to the bottom of the chapter, it didn't quite fit where it used to be.**


	4. Chapter 4

Cora

 **So I was a bit disappointed at the lack of reviews from the last chapter, and they really do fuel my writing. Maybe that's why I don't feel like the beginning of this chapter is any good. So please review!**

 **I made a slight change to chapter three (it doesn't need to be re-read or anything), I just moved Bella's backstory to the end of the chapter, it didn't really fit at the beginning.**

 **Anyway, this chapter is moving on from the filler, so please enjoy!**

* * *

 _Pluckley Village, 2012_

The twins raced each other down the silent road on their motorbikes. The boy was on a Triumph Daytona 678, and if you could look under all of the iconic shamrock graffiti, the girl rode a similar model.

"Last one to the chipper has to pay for the meal!" the boy laughed, confident in his motorbike's speed.

The girl quickly glanced at her brother. "You're on! Prepare to loose, Connor!"

They sped up, and raced down the street. Both were on constant lookout for any object or person that may cause an accident. They had been riding since they were young and knew what their bike's limits were. It was a close race, however, the girl one by a few seconds.

Connor grumbled as he entered the shop. "And I was the one who wanted to race…"

The girl leant against her motorbike as she waited for her brother to return. A sudden, cold, breeze blew the ends of her long red hair into tangles as they weren't tucked inside her green helmet. She scowled, but when she looked up, the girl's eyes widened through the screen across her face. Her posture stiffened, and suddenly the atmosphere was tense.

When Connor exited the store with the fish and chips tucked safely into his bag, the girl sighed in relief. "You're back! C'mere, we betta get a movin'!"

"Why are we in such a rush?" Connor asked.

"We're not!" the girl snapped back, a little too quickly. "Just come on!"

Her twin sighed as he put his helmet back on. "Fine, fine."

The trip back was uncomfortable, the weather had suddenly become unbearably cold, and despite having respect for road rules, the girl kept pushing the speed limit. It was almost like she was running from something. Or someone.

Out on the road ahead, a man appeared, out of the blue. He was wearing a long navy trench coat, which would have been unsuitable for the weather only moments before. The man had a smile on his face, but what was most disturbing was the violet eyes that could be seen from behind the man's pale hair. They almost appeared to glow.

The girl slowed the pace of her bike, she was worried about what the man was about to do. Connor, on the other hand, was oblivious as to the intent of the man, and just continued on.

It was when the man pulled out a long silver stick did the girl realise that the man was not after her, but her brother. Which was by far, much worse. Although they argued, Connor meant so much to his sister. So she was going to protect him.

She wasn't going to let that creepy old man hurt her family.

Connor only realised what was happening _after_ it had happened. For days, months, he created scenarios in his mind of all the things he could have done to save his sister. He could have taken the blow for her, or turned around, forcing his twin to follow. For God's sake, he could have run the man over, it would have helped, he was only holding a pipe anyway.

The police said that Erin Kirkland had died in a motorcycle accident, just like those poor other youths that were in road accidents all over the globe. For some unexplainable reason, they seemed to disregard the clear evidence that the injuries on Erin's body were not from falling of a bike, but rather being hit from the side but the assailant had long since disappeared.

Connor wouldn't question the police's judgement. They were probably right, anyway. Because how could a man disappear just as suddenly as he came? It was impossible. Connor thought he knew what he saw, but he must just have been imagining things. He _had_ to be imagining things. But…

Connor wasn't crazy.

* * *

 _Hothfield, 2016_

Arthur stood with his four brothers outside the ornate gates to the Hothfield cemetery. This was a big moment for them all. The last time they had come to this place was for the funeral. Despite their claims, all of them were scared, all of them were lost in memories.

Dylan had been staying at Liam's house when he heard. He remembered how he had refused to believe it, but in the end, he had been the one to say the final goodbyes to her for his family for his family. In the funeral service, how the priest had talked like he actually had known her. He had seen her in the casket, before it was lowered, the only one of his brothers to do so, and the memory of her grey skin and face still haunted him to this day.

Allistor remembered how he had gone out drinking that night. It wasn't his first time out, but unlike in the past, he was there at the Blacksmith's Arms to drown his grief in alcohol, not to have fun. It was the beginning of his current drinking problem.

Peter could clearly remember the terrible day when he lost both his sister and his mother. He had gotten an award at school, and he was so proud. It was his first award that year, and he couldn't wait to tell everyone. And then he saw the police cars outside of his house, and his mother crying.

Connor remembered the accident, how he had been helpless to save her. He blamed himself, he was her brother! He should have protected Erin. He should have been the one to die.

Arthur remembered those purple eyes, just staring as his sister's body was examined. He wondered whether he would see Erin's ghost.

Allistor broke the silence with a nervous cough. "Well, I guess we betta go in."

Despite the Kirkland family living in Pluckley Village for many a generation, Allistor had made the difficult decision that she was to be buried in Hothfield, away from their hometown, as their mother was incapable of doing most things after her only daughter's death.

Having her buried so far away helped. The brother's had all come to the unspoken realisation that if they were faced with her grave, there was a great chance they would become like their mother. That was why they were only coming to visit four years after the accident.

Erin had been buried on the south side of the cemetery. She was surrounded by stranger's headstones.

As they approached their sister's plot, Arthur glanced Connor. He was clutching a bundle of flowers, and his knuckles were white. Erin's twin had taken her death the hardest, of course. Allistor, Dylan and Peter stood back as their brothers went forward to give the grave the only bunch of flowers it had ever received. No one in Hothfield had known Erin, so no one had thought to place flowers on her grave.

However, Arthur realised with a start that this was not the case. Lying next to the banquet of shamrock flowers, was a single sunflower. There was dew on its petals, indicating that it had been there overnight, but it hadn't wilted, meaning it was a relatively new flower. Arthur opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it, realising that now wasn't the time. He stepped back to re-join his brothers.

There was a flash of emerald light, making Arthur whip around. There was only one creature that did that. A ghost.

And there Erin was, standing in the shadows of the trees. She placed a finger to her lips, and beckoned to Arthur.

"If you would excuse me," Arthur murmured as he slipped away.

When he got close enough, Erin smiled. "After all these years, you have finally come to visit me. I knew you would eventually, and I knew that you'd be the one to see me, Artie."

Immediately, Arthur felt tears pricking his eyes. "Erin… I…"

"We've always been more perceptive than our brothers, haven't we, Arthur?" Erin commented. She smiled through her own tears. "Seeing things that were never there. Honestly, I'm happy you never lost the gift."

"I never realised that you could See as well." Arthur recomposed himself. It wouldn't do crying. This was only his big sister's ghost.

"We all can, to a certain extent." Seeing Arthur's surprised face, she laughed. "Oh, Artie, don't tell me you never realised…"

Arthur flushed. "I… uh…"

"Oh, don't worry. We had the most noticeable gifts… for example…"

"Arthur, you jerk, why did you just go off and leave us!" It was Peter, and he looked quite upset. When he saw Erin, his eyes widened, and he turned in the opposite direction and ran away. Arthur made a move to go and follow his younger brother, but he stopped again when he looked at Erin.

"Peter can only see ghosts." Erin explained. "He just sees their figure, but it's too blurry to make out. Some ghosts reveal themselves to him, but he can't understand them at all, so sometimes he thinks he's crazy."

"Oh." Arthur felt bad, if his brother's all had these talents that he didn't know about, and four would have problems caused by their abilities. He should know.

"You're just gifted when it comes to ghosts." Erin laughed again, but something in her expression suggested that everything was not alright.

"Erin…?" Arthur hesitated. "Are you alright?"

The red head forced a smile onto her pale face. "Yes, but I can't stay much longer."

Arthur realised with a bit of shock that Erin was not anchored to the world like Carlos or Gilbert. "Erin… So why did you come here?"

* * *

 _Pluckley Village, 2016_

When Alfred arrived at the place his brother had led him too, he was confused. "Bro… Why are we here?"

"We're going to visit a…" Matthew hesitated. "We're here to visit a friend of mine."

"But this place is abandoned …!" Alfred protested. "There's an old hobo out here, bro… I think you got lost."

The Canadian ignored his brother, and cupped a hand to his mouth. "CARLOS! I'm back!" It was almost the loudest Alfred had ever heard his brother. Matthew then darted behind a wall, like he was hiding. He pulled his brother along with him.

"Wha-?" Alfred's exclamation was muffled as Matthew had clamped his hand around his brother's mouth.

"Shh!" Matthew urged, smiling. "We can't be too loud, eh."

Alfred's eyes widened in realisation, he knocked his brother's hand away. "Wow, bro! I didn't think you liked to annoy the hobo as well."

The Canadian gaped at his brother. "Alfred! That's not why we're here."

There was a flash of light, and Matthew relaxed. "Wait here, Al." He stepped out from their hiding place, and the next thing the American heard was a familiar scream. Alfred had heard it on school afternoon's when he felt like taking his anger out on someone weaker than himself.

"WHY YOU LITTLE BRAT! YOU'RE BACK AGAIN! WHAT HAVE I SAID-" the voice of the hobo was cut off quickly by Matthew's softer one.

"Carlos, it's me, Matthew."

"DON'T TRY TRICKING ME!" The hobo, Carlos, yelled. "I KNOW IT'S YOU- wait, you are Matt, right?"

Alfred could practically see his brother nodding.

"Well, then." Carlos sounded embarrassed. "Sorry. I'd give you ice-cream… but."

From the way Matthew laughed, Alfred could tell that Carlos said that a lot. With a start, the American realised that Matthew kept getting mistaken for _him._ Alfred felt slightly guilty for causing problems between his brother and his friend.

"So, whatcha up to, Matt?" Carlos asked. "You don't normally come today. Arthur didn't ask you to come and check up on me, right? I've been fine, really?"

Matthew laughed awkwardly, and Alfred wondered whether Arthur, who had been away all week, was also one of Matthew's new friends. Matthew was taking notes for the distant Brit, so Alfred wouldn't be surprised. "No, not exactly… See, I want to properly introduce you to someone…"

"Someone else can see us?" Carlos sounded surprised, which confused the American. Why shouldn't people be able to see him?

"Possibly…" Matthew paused. "Well, Carlos, I'd like you to meet my brother Alfred."

Alfred realised that with all the screaming that had happened earlier, this meeting would not go well.

"Brother… That means…" The old hobo appeared, almost out of nowhere, wearing his dirty overalls like always. "YOU!"

Alfred screamed a manly scream, and scrambled backwards into the brick wall. "Don't kill me!"

Matthew came around the corner, frowning. "Carlos! Don't keep doing that! I can't keep up with you." Seeing what his brother and his friend were doing, his frown deepened. "Oh, come on, Carlos. Leave him alone. I'm doing this to help you."

"Can I… talk to you for a second?" Carlos bit out, glaring at Alfred. "We need to talk, Matthew."

The Canadian in question gulped. "S-sure, Carlos. Let's walk this way…"

* * *

Cora

 **Well... that's chapter four. Hopefully it isn't as bad as I think it is, so fingers crossed. Anyway, a massive thank you to** Jubi no Neko **,** RICEBALL300 **,** Fionn Rose **and** Willow Breeze the first **for favouriting and/or following, I'm really glad you like this story.**

 **PLEASE VOTE ON THE POLL!**

 **Please review, please! Have a great afternoon!**


	5. Chapter 5

Cora

 **I'm sorry I wasn't able to get this out yesterday like I normally do, but at least I was still able to update this week! Please enjoy this next chapter.**

* * *

 _Pluckley Village, 2016_

Carlos didn't understand why Matthew had brought along his brother. Didn't the boy realise that Alfred harassed him? Once they were out of Alfred's immediate earshot, Carlos rounded on the smaller male. "Why did you bring him here, Matthew?"

Matthew seemed to shrink under the big Cuban ghost's gaze, and he wouldn't meet Carlos's eyes. "I'm so sorry, Carlos! I just thought that if Al could see ghosts as well, and didn't realise… I thought that then I might be able to explain that to him, and then he would stop bullying you?"

The Cuban immediately realised that his friend had not meant any ill, and softened. He felt almost guilty of how he treated his only real friend. "Do you think he'll understand?"

The shorter male nodded. "I know you guys got off on the wrong foot, but Alfred really is a nice guy."

Carlos scoffed. "Yeah right." Seeing Matthew's disappointed face, he sighed in defeat, now properly regretting his previous hostility. "Okay, fine. I'll talk with him, and hopefully you can stop him from bothering me. We're never gonna be friends, you know, Matthew."

Matthew nodded, he appreciated that Carlos was willing to try smooth thing over with his brother. "Oh, and Carlos, we're not going to mention that you're a… a ghost, yeah?"

"Yup! If it weren't Artie showing ya around, I wouldn't have been comfortable with you knowing, either." Carlos was beginning to cheer up again.

The pair walked down to where Alfred still was. The normally loud American fidgeting and wouldn't meet his brother's eyes.

Matthew smiled forcefully. "So, why don't we do this again. Carlos, this is my brother, Alfred. Alfred, Carlos."

The other two stared at each other f0r another few minutes. Matthew was starting to develop a killer headache, and a wicked purple aura.

A single glance at his brother made Alfred gulp. Matthew could be really scary when he wanted to be. The American stuck out a hand, trying not to let it shake. "Yo, I'm Alfred F. Jones, Mattie's brother."

" _Hola_ , Alfred." The Cuban replied stiffly. "I'm Carlos Machados, I'm Matt's best friend."

Matthew flushed. He was flattered that Carlos saw him as such, even though they had only known each other for a short amount of time. The Canadian was amazed that he went from having trouble being remembered to having three people outside of his immediate family that genuinely cared for him- Carlos, Arthur and Gilbert.

Alfred didn't have the same reaction. The blond American stared at Carlos's massive build, his scrappy dark green overalls, and cigar that had appeared out of nowhere. He turned to his brother. "Hey, Mattie, isn't he like… too old for you?"

The American had meant it to embarrass Matthew, just like all brother's do, but the reaction he received was nothing like he expected.

"Too old…" Carlos glanced at Matthew, who completed the sentence. "For me?" The pair burst out laughing.

"Uh, what did I say?" Alfred was confused. It wasn't _that_ funny. "Bro, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." The Canadian regained his composure in a way that reminded both Alfred and Carlos of a certain green eyed Englishman. The sudden resemblance almost scared Alfred. "So, anyway. Al, can you please apologise to Carlos?"

Alfred was suddenly reminded of the humiliating truth that he had been picking on his brother's best friend. He felt really bad, but his pride wouldn't allow for him to just straight up and apologise! "Uh, well… sorry, I guess…"

"Sorry for what?" Prompted Matthew.

"I'm sorry for being such a jerk to you." Alfred said, glaring at his twin. "So… are we cool?"

One of Carlos's thick eyebrows- again, Alfred saw his classmate in a person, why was Arthur everywhere today?- and the Cuban scoffed. "No, we're not 'cool'. Look, you've been plain insensitive to me these past years and that all can't be washed away with a simple sorry. But 'cause you're my friend's brother, I'm gonna try and not hate ya."

Matthew nodded in approval. "Good, good."

"And I won't come and pick on you anymore." Alfred coughed. "Sorry about that, dude."

As Alfred, Carlos and Matthew talked, any doubts about Alfred vanished from the Canadian's mind. Alfred was his brother, they shared everything together. Why Matthew had been so reluctant didn't make sense anymore. So, Matthew decided, he would take Alfred to see Gilbert.

* * *

 _Hothfield, 2016_

The Hothfield Brain Injury Rehabilitation and Neurological Care Centre was a cheerful, white painted building full of helpful staff and kind, but distracted patients in wheelchairs. Hillary was a young nurse who had only started working at the centre in 2015. Today she had been charged with showing around the men who had introduced themselves as _the Kirkland Brothers,_ all, whom she noticed, were highly attractive.

"So, are you here to see whether our care is suited to your loved one's conditions?" Hillary asked.

"No." One replied shortly.

Another frowned at the Scotsman's irritable reply. "Allistor, don't be so rude."

"Dylan!" the first, Allistor, moaned.

"If you don't mind me asking, then why are you here?" Hillary stopped short, all of a sudden she was aware of how silly her questioning had been. It had probably offended the five brothers as well. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I should have realised."

"Yeah, you should have." Grumbled Allistor, prompting another of his brothers to hit him lightly on the shoulder.

"Who are you wanting to visit?" Hillary asked, embarrassed.

The youngest, he looked about fifteen, grinned. "We wanna visit our mum!"

"Peter," the one who had hit Allistor spoke gently. "Miss Hillary isn't going to know who we're talking about unless we give a proper name."

But the Irishman was wrong. Hillary did know who Peter was talking about. Elspeth Kirkland had been admitted to the Centre a few years ago after the death of her only daughter sent her over the edge. Reports had shown that Elspeth had always been unstable, seeing things that were never there, and such. Once again, Hillary felt humiliated that she had not picked up on something so blatantly obvious.

"Oh, Elspeth Kirkland?" Hillary asked, just to confirm things. The Irishman gave a small nod. "Oh, well, she's just down along this hall…"

* * *

It was a shock for Dylan to see his mother again after so many years. She looked different than she did when the Welshman had seen her last. When Dylan had said goodbye, Elspeth Kirkland had been a mess. But now, she looked clean, and peaceful propped up on all of her pristine pillows, but that was probably due to all the medicine the Centre probably gave her.

Hillary, the nurse showing them around murmured that she would give them some privacy, before leaving.

" _Mam?_ " Dylan said softly, taking a hesitant step forward. "We've come to visit you."

Elspeth glanced at her sons, but something in her expression suggested that she wasn't entirely there. When she spoke, the men had to strain their ears to hear what she said. "My... boys...? Is that... you...? Why, you've all... grown. Adrien... said you'd... come."

Dylan didn't know who this Adrien was, maybe this is what the doctors had meant when they had mentions hallucinations. "Yes Mam, we're all here. Allistor, Connor, Arthur, Peter, Dylan...?"

Elspeth's brow creased, as her eyes rested on Connor. "Erin...?"

The atmosphere in the room became heavier. No one wanted to remind their mother what had happened to their only sister. Perhaps Elspeth had blocked it from her memory to protect herself from the grief?

"Uh... she's not here." Connor said. "We were just visiting her. She couldn't make it."

Something flashed in Elspeth's eyes. "Foolish girl." She spat, venom in her voice. "Why would she do that. I thought I raised my girl to be better than that."

The brothers took a simultaneous step back. Dylan didn't understand this sudden change in his mother's personality. Only a second ago, his mother had seemed too weak to speak. Now...

"Mamma, Erin was in an accident." Peter said quietly.

Elspeth head tilted to the left. "Oh... that's right..." And she was back to the sleepy woman she was before. "Tell her... that... it will get... better."

"Does she think the accident only injured Erin?" Allistor muttered. "I'm jealous."

They all stood there, in silence. It was a melancholy silence, only broken by Elspeth's distracted humming. Before the Kirkland's had to leave, they all said goodbye to their mother. It wasn't clear when they would visit again.

Dylan watched as Arthur kissed his mother on the cheek, everyone else was watching from the doorframe, which was why only Dylan and Arthur heard what was said last.

"Arthur dear..." Elspeth murmered. "It's... Winter..."

The blond nodded, confused. "Ah, yes. The lily of the valley will soon be blooming back home. They were always your favourites, right?"

Elspeth shook her head, her brown hair spreading across the pillows. "No. It's winter." She said this so firmly and with such conviction. It didn't make sense. But then again, Dylan remembered, there was a reason why Elspeth Kirkland was in a mental hospital.

"Goodbye, Mother." Arthur said softly. He looked just as confused as Dylan felt.

As they left the building, Allistor sighed. "Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to come here."

The brothers made noises of agreement.

"Miss Hillary and the other nurses seem to be taking care of Mamma... Maybe we should just remember her as she used to be." Peter suggested, despite his childish antics, he was a Kirkland and could fully understand a serious situation.

"Perhaps..." Peter's brothers said in unison.

* * *

 _Pluckley Village, 2016_

"I'm glad things worked out between you and Carlos." Matthew said cheerfully.

Alfred shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. "Yeah, well, he is your friend. It wouldn't be cool if I couldn't get along with your friends."

Matthew tilted his head to the side innocently. "Does that mean you'll try to be more understanding towards Arthur from now on?"

"Wha-?" The American spluttered. "Since when have you been friends with _Arthur Kirkland_?"

"A while." Matthew replied vaguely. "But anyway… we still have time before Mama wants us for dinner. Let's take the scenic way back home. Go by Fright's Corner and stuff."

"Fright's Corner? But isn't that place _haunted_?" Alfred frowned. The American just hated ghosts and zombies and vampires and werewolves… they gave him the creeps.

Matthew flinched. "Uh… no, it isn't haunted. I think… but we don't have to go that way if you're scared, eh!"

Alfred laughed that obnoxious laugh that grated so many people's nerves. "Nah, don't be ridiculous, bro. I'm a hero, and we heroes aren't scared of a supposedly haunted street… nope! Let's go then, Mattie!"

The Canadian beamed. ' _Al can be so easy to manipulate!'_ He thought as he started to lead Alfred to where he knew Gilbert would be at this time in the evening.

Matthew was positive that Alfred would get along with Gilbert. The pair had similar interests, and although their personalities would clash a little with all of their ' _I'm the hero!'_ and _'I'm so awesome!'_ they would probably have fun. A little part of Matthew said that Gilbert would abandon him for Alfred, but that hadn't happened with Carlos.

The Prussian ghost was standing where he normally did, leaning against one of the trees. Gilbert raised a hand in a lazy wave, which Matthew returned more enthusiastically.

Alfred gave Matthew a funny look. "Bro, who are you waving to?"

Matthew stared at his brother. "Um, Gil- wait, can't you see him?"

"See who?" Alfred laughed nervously. "Are you okay, Mattie? There's no one over there…"

"But-!" The Canadian frowned. "You really don't see anyone?"

"Nope!" The American hesitated. "Should I?"

Matthew chuckled awkwardly. "Uh, no… It probably was just my imagination, anyway. Let's just go home now, Al."

"Yes!" cheered Alfred. "I wonder what's for dinner?"

Matthew followed along behind his brother, throwing a glance over his shoulder at Gilbert, who shrugged.

Alfred could see Carlos, but he couldn't see Gilbert. Why was that?

* * *

Cora

 **Thank you for reading this chapter of** Spiritus Urbs **! Thank you to** KittyMagician **and** RandomPerson 83 **for favouriting and/or following, I'm really happy you're enjoying this story.**

 **Also, thank you so much to** Kira-Writer **for your review. Unfortunately, I don't speak Spanish (?) but I think that Google Translate helped me understand what you were trying to say. Hopefully I interpreted it correctly- I thought it was really kind of you.**

 **Thank you to those people who have voted on my poll. As it is going, Germany will be properly introduced next, however if you would prefer Norway or Grandpa Rome, please go and vote!**

Something random that happened to me this week: **I went on to Google only to find it all was in German. I had no clue what to do! I thought I had pressed the wrong button and somehow damaged my computer. As much as I would love to speak German (and Italian!) I had no idea what any of it said. So... I clicked random things on the homepage and eventually it reverted back to English. I was glad. Has something like that ever happened to any of you?**

IMPORTANT!: **I will be really busy for the next two or three weeks, and it is unlikely that I will get chapters out on time. I know it was my goal to do that, but I really won't be able to sit down at my computer and solidly write for a little while. Sorry.**

 **I apologise for the massive author's note! Everyone, have a great halloween weekend!**


	6. Chapter 6

Cora

!THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE BOTTOM IS IMPORTANT PLEASE READ!

 **Well, hi. Sorry about not updating the last few weeks, but as I said in the previous chapter, I really would have been pushing it to get a chapter out- I really had no time, but I'm back now, and I plan to resume my weekly updating schedule!**

 **The first part of this chapter is historically inaccurate to some extent, but this is only a fan fiction, so I'll take a little bit of creative license here, if that's okay with you.**

* * *

 _Pluckley Village, 1647_

The civil war had finally ended, and all of the soldiers, both cavalier and round-head, were glad it was all over. There had been so much blood shed and death, and the foot soldiers were eager to return to their homes and families. 'The Ghost's Arms' had been almost cleared out by now, there were only a few left lingering. One of these was a young cavalier with platinum hair hanging over one eye, accompanied by a large grey dog.

Another of the remaining soldiers learnt across the counter. "I'm glad this all is over, Thorne. I can't wait to get home; I have a little girl waiting for me."

Thorne smiled thinly. "Yes, I assume you will depart soon?"

"Yes." The man nodded. "I leave early, so I must rest before I go. It was a pleasure fighting beside you, Thorne."

The cavaliers shook hands, before the older left for his room.

A flash of green made Thorne look away from his acquaintance's retreating form. He thought he saw a blond woman dart through the hall, but that was impossible. There were no women here. "Keep it together, Henri." Thorne ordered himself.

A few days passed, and soon Henri was the only soldier left taking advantage of the tavern's hospitality. He rarely left his room, now and Henri wore dark circles under his eyes, due to the lack of sleep- the cavalier re-experienced the war again and again when he slept.

As if sensing Henri's mood, the massive dog whimpered, and his owner gave the dog an absentminded pat.

"It will all be over soon, boy." Henri murmured, twisting the silver knife he had found in his room when the cavaliers had been assigned their lodgings.

The dog whimpered again, and covered his eyes with a furry paw.

Henri sighed again. Images of the past few years flashed by his eyes- all that death and destruction… he really didn't have anything to live for anymore. He gave a bitter chuckle, before driving the blade home…

* * *

 _Pluckley Village, 2016_

Alfred had returned to his video games, hopeful to beat his high score before dinner, and Matthew called Arthur as soon as he was alone. It took a couple of rings before Arthur answered, and Matthew was feeling even more guilty about calling his classmate as time went on.

As soon as Arthur picked up, Matthew apologised. "Arthur, I'm so sorry for bothering you!"

There was a moment of silence before Arthur replied. _"Good heavens, Matthew! Calm down! It's no issue at all. So, what is the matter?"_

Despite the Englishman's reassurance, the Canadian still felt guilty. "Uh, well… I took Alfred to see Carlos, as you suggested…"

 _"_ _Ah, I see. How did it go?"_

"Fine." Matthew replied. "Al could see Carlos and everything, and after we established that Al wasn't going to bug Carlos, they made a truce. Kind of…"

Arthur made a thinking noise over the phone's speaker. _"Alfred can see ghosts? So is it a hereditary thing in your family?"_

"Not exactly." Matthew frowned. "Arthur, when I took him to see Gilbert, Al was completely oblivious!"

 _"_ _So he can see Carlos, but not Gilbert?"_

Matthew nodded, before remembering they were on the phone. "I think so, yes."

There was silence, and then Arthur cleared his throat. _"Matthew, I do have a theory, but I won't be able to confirm it until I get home. I'll be back in two days, so just keep Alfred away from both of them, just for a little while."_

"I can do that." Matthew smiled. He'd been able to help Arthur again! "Have a great evening. Sorry for calling you, Arthur."

 _"_ _It's no trouble at all. It was my fault for dragging you into this, the least I can do is answer your questions."_

They both had to hang up after that, as they were both needed for dinner.

* * *

It was during their lunch break when it happened. Matthew was copying his notes into a second notebook for Arthur, and eating his lunch, when Gilbert appeared at his side- out of nowhere.

Matthew jumped. He supposed he should have been used to it already, with Carlos doing it all the time when Matthew visited, and Gilbert appearing out of nowhere at inconvenient times to tell him what Alfred and his friend Matthias were up to (Gilbert had said once or twice that if he were alive, he would love to hang out with them. Apparently they were 'almost as awesome as he was.')

However, Gilbert wasn't grinning this time. He was frowning, and kept looking around for witnesses. "Birdie, you need to come with me, now!"

Matthew was confused. "Why, Gilbert? It's still school and-"

"It's Carlos." The ghost cut in. His left hand drifted to where he had shown Matthew his wound. The Canadian wondered whether he realised what he was doing. "He's having a… well, a panic attack."

The blond was conflicted. School wasn't over yet, and he would be skipping his lessons if he left now, but on the other hand, Carlos was his friend, and it was expected that one would help their friends.

"This is what Arthur wanted me to do while he was away, right?" Matthew asked as he packed his things back into his bag.

Gilbert nodded, knowing that Matthew had pretty much agreed to come already. " _Ja_. Now, come on, Birdie. He's probably caught the attention of the locals by now."

"I don't know why Arthur doesn't let you come with him on his rounds," Matthew panted as they raced to where they both knew Carlos would be. "You really know what you're doing, you're not irresponsible at all."

" _Ja_ , I know I'm awesome Birdie. Arthur just is jealous that I'm awesome and he's just a stuffy Brit." Gilbert was not out of breath.

Matthew had to swallow a giggle, it wouldn't do to laugh at another friend's expense. "I see…" He was struck by a sudden thought, and a sudden insecurity. "Um… Gilbert…"

'What?" Gilbert replied, slowing slightly.

"I… I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do." Matthew looked down. "What if I can't help Carlos…?"

"Birdie, you will be able to help Carlos." Gilbert came to a complete stop, and looked at his Canadian friend seriously.

"But… but what do I do?" Matthew whispered. "Am I supposed to do some kind of magic chant?"

If Matthew could crack a joke, the former highway man realised, then he couldn't be that upset. Hopefully. "I've never needed any help in that department before, but from what Arthur has told me…" Gilbert said thoughtfully as he resumed walking. "I think he just talks to Carlos, and the other ghosts that may need help calming down. It sounds pretty cliché doesn't it? Talk to them, and bring them back!"

Matthew smile was small, but was definitely there. "Really? Is that all, I just need to talk to him?"

"Well… maybe you'll need to give Carlos a _big_ hug!" Gilbert laughed before flashing away from Matthew, reappearing further up the road.

"Gil!" Matthew complained as he hurried to catch up. "That isn't very fair!" His worries hadn't completely disappeared, but the Canadian felt that he had enough of an idea to at least attempt to help the Cuban ghost.

When the unlikely pair arrived at where Carlos was supposed to be, no one was there. Suddenly, desperate screams filled the surrounding air, in a voice that was most definitely that of Carlos'.

Matthew whirled around, his fears reignited. How was he expected to help if the Cuban wouldn't take a physical form? "Gil! I don't know whether I can do this…!"

Gilbert shrugged, although he felt guilty that he couldn't help the Canadian more. He could only imagine what it felt like, honestly, despite all of his experiences as a feared highwayman, if he had been faced with the same situation back in the day, Gilbert knew he would have been a coward and run away. But still, he would have been an awesome coward.

Realising that the Prussian had no 'helpful' advice to offer, Matthew took a couple of steps closer to where the majority of the cries were coming from. "Um…" Matthew gulped. "Carlos? It's me, Matthew!" In a mumble, the Canadian added a soft complaint- he felt really silly.

The stressful atmosphere did not change, although it felt as though the cries were less panicked.

"Carlos, come on!" Matthew called out, starting to get desperate. Arthur and Gilbert didn't think it necessary to tell him that the magic 'just talk to him' trick wouldn't work within the first few minutes. The Canadian felt his patience beginning to boil away. After a few more pointless attempts, Matthew snapped. "CARLOS! IF YOU DON'T GET YOURSELF TOGETHER NOW, YOU'RE GONNA OWE ME TONS OF ICECREAM, DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

Gilbert, who was watching, smirked. His Birdie could yell when he wanted to! The Prussian almost liked this loud, irritate side to Matthew. In a way, it reminded him of someone he had known a long time ago, who would be a cute little angel, but through a massive tantrum if he didn't get his way.

It was because of this, that Gilbert wasn't altogether surprised when Carlos appeared near the fallen wall he was known to have died, silently sobbing.

The reappearance of his friend shocked Matthew. Carlos was always so strong and put together, but now… Matthew only now realised how much of an effect these panic attacks, or flashbacks, had on his ghostly friends. He was only distantly aware of Gilbert talking slowly with Carlos, confirming everything was fine. Matthew allowed himself to be lead around, and whenever needed, he would give non committed responses like 'yeah' 'eh' and 'mn.'

Upon realising that Matthew wasn't actually 'there,' Gilbert decided that the young Canadian shouldn't go school as he was- and he couldn't go back home either. What would Matthew's teachers, or parents think? Gilbert was sure they were all aware of the symptoms of shock.

Gilbert thought he had a place, and although it really wasn't suitable for children, it was a nice, comfortable, friendly establishment for ghosts and anyone involved with them- like Arthur and Matthew.

The duo was met at the door by Bella, when she saw who Gilbert was with, she ushered them to what was probably the darkest corner of the tavern- so Matthew, a minor, wouldn't attract any attention. Matthew took a seat around the fire, near Lars.

"Why did you bring him here, Gilbert?" Bella asked, genuinely curious. "If I'm not mistaken, he should still be in school at this time?"

The albino hummed, and nodded. "True, true." Gilbert lowered his voice. "Carlos had one of his… episodes, and Matthew had to help."

Bella's eyes widened. "Oh, the poor thing! It must have been very overwhelming for him… Matthew is welcome to stay here with us for as long as he needs to, although I'm not sure what any of the regulars will think to an underage child being in here."

"If I remember correctly, you are physically the same age as Matthew, _ja_?" Gilbert asked, smirking. "But anyway, thanks Bella."

"It's my pleasure." Bella said graciously. "It's always fun when we meet someone new, and you know very well how that doesn't happen very often, Gilbert." There was a pause as both ghosts considered that statement. Bella sighed. "Well, I am just going to go upstairs and let Henri know we have a guest."

Gilbert nodded, and his eyes flickered to back to Matthew. "Sure…"

Bella disappeared, leaving Gilbert with the silent Matthew and the frowning Lars. Naturally, the highwayman decided, he was going to annoy Lars. Leaning on the back of his chair, Gilbert snapped his gloved fingers in front of the other man's face. "Oi! Anyone home?"

Lars made a sound that seemed to be a cross between a growl and a sign of acknowledgement.

"So, how have ya been, Larsy?" Gilbert asked, chuckling. "I bet you haven't had as fun of a week as I have."

"Probably not." Lars grunted in reply.

"Kesesese!" Gilbert cackled, a mad grin stretching across his face. "I think that's the most I've ever gotten out of you!"

"I'm not mute." The other ghost grumbled.

Gilbert gasped. "Why, isn't this a day of firsts!"

* * *

Aria

 **Heyo guys! I'm Aria! This is my first time saying hi cos I don't really do much *nervous laughter* I do more of the art side of the fandoms so there won't be much writing from me... I'm currently working on a cover image for Spiritus Urbs. I'm just waiting for 'someone' *looks at Cora* to tell me what the characters wear. Well anyway it's nice to say hi and I hope you like what's to come in this fanfiction *acts like I actually know the plot* Bye~**

Cora

 **I wasn't entirely satisfied with this chapter, but I did think it was better than nothing. First of all, I'd like to thank** HetaliaGirl-21 **,** Cute Koneko Chan **, and** Emerald Awesome 14 **for adding this story to your favourites, and** HetaliaGirl-21 **for** **giving me such a kind review! Thank you so much!**

IMPORTANT! **-** **So, as you probably have noticed, I did not write in any accents in this chapter. Is it better to give characters accents, or should I just leave it up to your imaginations? Do writing in accents make the story look... scrappy? I would really appreciate feedback on this.**

IMPORTANT! **-** **The poll I have on my profile will be taken down at the end of this week, so please vote on that if you have not already.**

 **Once again, this was a monster author's note, but I really would appreciate it if you took the time to read it. Okay, thanks for reading this chapter and PLEASE REVIEW!**


	7. Chapter 7

_Pluckley Village, 1905_

"Is this your stop?" the young coachman asked his passenger.

The man and woman in the back made noises of confirmation. They were the man's least favourite type of passenger, constantly giggling and making inappropriate noises in the back as they were taken to their destination, or when they were returning home.

As the driver pulled up, he was gifted with a few coins from the pair he had so generously ferried across town. He scooped up the coins with a greedy ferocity, startling the woman. The coach driver then bared his teeth in what the passengers assumed to be a smile, albeit a frightening one.

"Have a… nice evening…" the woman said as she and her partner turned away from the coach.

When they were out of sight, the driver stepped out of his coach and drew a pipe from his personal bag of belongings, lighting it and taking a long whiff of its fumes. The driver sighed, taking another deep breath before he extinguished his pipe.

The coach driver frowned as he climbed back inside of the cab. He ran a gloved hand through his spiky hair before starting the engine again, which struggled to come to life. The man sighed as he drove away from the couple's location.

The roads were clear of other vehicles, except for the occasional horse rider or carriage. The night itself was silent, and serene. Despite this, the coach driver was eager to get home. He had to prepare dinner for his siblings.

Road accidents were not uncommon in the area, which is why no one was completely shocked when it was heard that there had been a crash down near the Spectre's Arms. Apparently the man had been driving more quickly than what was considered safe and something had gone wrong within the coach's engine. The man had been taken to hospital by some helpful people nearby, however he passed away during the night leaving two younger siblings behind. A few days later, a rumour began circling Pluckley Village that another ghost had appeared within the already haunted pub.

* * *

 _Pluckley Village, 2016_

When Bella returned from fetching Henri (who had decided to come down to meet their guest) she was pleased to see that Matthew appeared to be feeling better. He was having a simple conversation with Gilbert about… pancakes?

"My name is Bella Jacobs." She said, approaching Matthew cautiously. Would he be able to see her? Or was his Sight only for Carlos and Gilbert?

The boy nodded. "I'm Matthew Williams. Nice to meet you."

Bella breathed a sigh of relief. She was seen, and her hopes had been rewarded. "These are my brothers, Lars and Henri."

The eternally young cavalier nodded in greeting, and Lars just grunted.

"We aren't siblings by blood," Bella explained, aware of Matthew's confusion. They didn't look alike after all. "The three of us died hundreds of years apart, but we all died here, so we're family. In fact, I'm actually the oldest."

Matthew's eyes widened. "Really?"

Bella's laugh was like bells. "I was a Tudor, which means I died in 15… I think it was in 1504. Henri died in 1647, he was a cavalier and Lars is our most recently deceased here at the Ghost's Arms. He died in 1905."

The former highwayman laughed. "Which pretty much makes physical ages and real ages the complete opposites!"

Matthew tilted his head to the side cutely. "Why do you call it the Ghost's Arms, Bella?"

"Oh, that's what this place was called when both Henri and I were alive, see? It was the Spectre's Arms when Lars was alive and now it has been renamed again to the Blacksmith's Arms." Bella laughed again, before undertaking a more serious attitude. "Matthew, I heard you helped Carlos through one of his flashbacks…"

"Yes." Matthew's eyes darkened, but he didn't stop smiling.

The Tudor girl placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, momentarily surprised when it didn't pass through Matthew's shoulder. "I think he will be fine."

"He was really upset when we left." Matthew replied.

Bella nodded. "It's good that you left when you did, he needs some time alone to calm down now. Matthew, Carlos has been like this before. He always recovers, even when it was Arthur who helped him."

Matthew frowned. "Why would Arthur change the outcome?"

"He's not very good with feelings~" sang Gilbert, clearly listening in to their conversation.

Bella chose to ignore Gilbert entirely. "The point is, Matthew, you need not worry. These things are normal and are just a part of life for us ghosts."

* * *

"Are all ghosts so relaxed?" Matthew asked after they had said goodbye to the trio, snuggling into his jacket.

"What do you mean by that, Birdie?" Gilbert replied, not quite sure where his friend was going with the conversation.

"Well, all of you… I mean, the ghosts that I've met so far are all so casual about it. You, Bella, Lars, Henri and even Carlos are fine with talking about their deaths. I would have expected them to get offended or something…" Matthew explained, hoping that it would clear things up.

"I see what you mean. You know a pretty good bunch of ghosties if I do say so myself." Gilbert tapped his finger on his chin thoughtfully. "The reason, I think, we are so relaxed about it is the old saying time heals all wounds… except, of course…" Gilbert trailed off, looking down. "Uh… Bella, Henri, Lars and I have been dead for hundreds of years, or in Lars's case, a long time. We've had time to get used to the idea. Carlos I think talks about it as a form of therapy, despite it not having any effects yet."

"I see…?"

"Now, on the other hand." Gilbert paused, weighing his next words carefully. "Roddy, for example, believes that if he doesn't vocalize the fact that he is, in fact, dead, he can deny it, despite being dead for almost as long as I have. Which doesn't actually make sense, considering it was his fault…"

"Just how many ghosts are there in this town?" sighed Matthew, it seemed as soon as he thought he was aware of everything, someone would drop a random name which would plant even more questions into the Canadian's brain.

Gilbert scratched his head. "My maths is a little rusty but I think that there are about… um… fifteen or so…?"

"And I only know five!" Matthew shook his head in bewilderment. "You and Arthur need to introduce me to more, clearly."

"Well, some don't like visitors, see." Gilbert frowned. "Roddy and Camille are _not_ good company, although, but maybe we could go and visit Yong Soo at some point."

"Sure." Matthew accepted this readily. He looked at his watch and frowned. "It's pretty much the end of school now, there's no real reason to go back now." Matthew looked up at Gilbert and grimaced. "Gilbert, would you mind terribly if I went home now? I've had a massive day, I'm really tired."

Gilbert nodded in acceptance. If he were still alive and had experienced what Matthew had seen today, he probably would have wanted to sleep as well. " _Ja_ , go home Birdie. Get lots of rest, and I'll see you soon."

Matthew smiled. "Thanks." As he walked away, he could here 'kesesesese' floating along on the breeze after him. Matthew shook his head. Gilbert's laugh was just unique.

* * *

Arthur was glad that he was back in his home village, the 'family trip' away had just ended up being really stressful and sad- after they had seen their mother, the Kirkland's had spent the rest of their time away in tense, melancholy silence.

It didn't help that Arthur had received a call from Matthew saying that Carlos had had one of his episodes. Arthur had been hoping that Matthew and Carlos's friendship would prevent any serious happenings of that source, but perhaps they hadn't known each other for long enough yet. He had heard that Gilbert had taken Matthew to the Blacksmith's Arms afterwards, to meet Bella and Henri, and Arthur thought that was a good idea. He would have to… thank Gilbert for his efforts and time.

Arthur had advised Matthew to take a break from the rounds, seeing as though he would be coming home soon and could take the job back over. At first, the shy Canadian had been hesitant, saying that he could take it for a few more days, but Arthur had insisted. Matthew had done enough as it was, and Arthur was incredibly grateful for his efforts.

The Kirkland brothers who were still in school went back on Wednesday. When he arrived, Arthur collected the notes that Matthew had taken for him and gave his thanks.

"It wasn't a problem, Arthur." Matthew replied. "I'm glad I could help you with this. And, you know, that."

"Yes, tell me all about that." Arthur said. "You mentioned several things to me; that Carlos had an episode, you went up to Maltman's Hill and Alfred couldn't see Gilbert?"

Matthew looked down awkwardly. "Well I think you just about covered it all."

"Why don't you elaborate then?" Arthur suggested simply.

"Um... well... Two nights ago Carlos had a flashback, and I wasn't sure what to do. Gilbert came and got me from school at lunchtime and I ended up missing the afternoon classes. Together we managed to calm Carlos down, thankfully, and then we went to this pub and I met Bella, Lars and Henri."

"Even though I don't really agree with Gilbert taking you into the pub in the middle of the day, I think it was a good idea. You were able to meet some new people and also you learnt how to handle Carlos's attacks." Arthur replied. "If you don't mind me asking, how long did it take you to calm Carlos?"

Matthew paused to think about it. "Um, I don't really know... But it couldn't have been longer than ten minutes."

Arthur realised that Matthew was more effective at the 'calming' thing, he immediately grew embarrassed. He always had a feeling that Mattnew would be well suited to that job but it was slightly humiliating when you realise that you're not really good with people. "Ah... I see... Well, if that happens again, would you mind terribly if you went to Carlos in my place? You seem to be more effective with Carlos, because you are such good friends."

"It would be my pleasure, Arthur." Matthew beamed as he resumed his tale of his week of adventures. "After I took Al to see Carlos, we went to Fright's Corner, but he couldn't see Gilbert. You said you had a theory, right?"

Arthur nodded. "Yes, and I plan to test this idea within the week."

"Let me know what you find out, please Arthur." Matthew requested politely.

"Of course," he responded easily. "Alfred is your brother, and Carlos and Gilbert are your friends. It would be terribly rude to keep something about them from you."

"Thanks!" Matthew smiled.

"There was one more thing I wanted to ask you about," Arthur continued. "A while ago, you said that there was a disturbance up on Maltman's Hill when you and Gilbert went up there. Did you end up going back there?"

Matthew shook his head no. "I took your advice." He paused. "I'm assuming you have another theory regarding that as well?"

"Indeed." Arthur allowed a small smile to grace his features. "There is a lot of guess work involved in this job I, no _we_ do. Thank you for all of this, by the way, but now that I am back, I can take over the late night runs again. You needn't lose any more sleep than necessary."

"But shouldn't the same go for you?" Matthew questioned, almost annoyed. It was hard to convince Arthur to let him give his aid. "We're in the same class, Arthur. You really shouldn't take it all on by yourself. Let me help you."

"There's no need for us both to patrol." Arthur protested.

"Then we alternate nights then." Matthew answered triumphantly, but he also crossed his arms over his chest. "You take the odd days of the month and I'll take the even days. That way we both can help and relax."

Arthur sighed. "There's no persuading you otherwise."

"Nope."

And that was their new agreement.

* * *

Cora

 **This was, as you can see, the most recent chapter. The following update will properly introduce the character who won the poll that has been on my profile for a while- our Lord and Saviour Doitsu (I discovered Doitsuism recently. Have you guys ever realised that us Hetalians have some really weird ideas? Sister... I think it was Coral, is a genius.)**

Jace Wilt **,** MustWatchAnimeNOW **,** Sapphire363 **and** Zeivira- **Thank you all so much for adding this story to your favourites and follows! You have no idea how much it means to me!**

* * *

SuperSister\- **I am so greatful for the two MASSIVE reviews you took the time to write. This is the first time I've done a proper acknowledgement on this story, but with all the points you covered in your kind reviews, I felt I had to answer with more than a simple thank you.**

 **I'll start with the first review you posted- I know you said that you mistook my story for another (I've actually read** What We've Left Behind **and I agree, it is really good.) but you still gave me some valuable information- NO ACCENTS! I asked a little while ago whether I should use accents, and that has pretty much decided that I won't, so thank you. I'll go back through the chapters and fix up all of those cringey German-accented things Prussia says.**

 **I really am pleased you like this story, and even though I am responsible for killing him, I felt really sad a few chapters ago when I realised that I couldn't have the BTT or the Awesome Trio because Prussia is a ghost! And they both are some of my favourite Hetalia trios! But at least Belgium, Luxembourg and Netherlands can be together, even in death. I love the sibling relationships! (Switzerland and Liechtenstein in particular...)**

 **I hope you feel better soon, it's terrible being sick! Thanks again for all of your support!**

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Zeivira **- Thank you for the feedback on my pathetic Spanish. Thanks for your correction- as you can tell, I can't speak Spanish and *gasp* the internet lies! If I make any embarrassing translation mistakes in the furture, please correct me. **

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**Thank you all for reading, and see you next chapter.**


	8. Chapter 8

_Pluckley Village, 2016_

Arthur didn't know exactly why he was at the local library, sorting through all the familial records that he could access. Correction- he didn't know _what_ he was to find. All he knew was that there had been several crazy anomalies in the past few weeks, throwing everything into a muddle. Arthur was trying to pin point the cause, and so far, despite his theories and clues, he had come up empty handed.

Why did Matthew only gain the ability to see ghosts recently? Why could Alfred see some ghosts but not others? Why was the coachman on Maltman's Hill suddenly so restless and uncontrollable? Did Ludwig Beilschmidt, one of the new students at Arthur's school, have any connection to Gilbert Beilschmidt, the notorious highwayman that had been dead for centuries?

These were only some of the questions floating around in the teen's mind as he tried and failed to organise his thoughts and experiments. This had brought him to the records hall in library, and now he was trying to find the Beilschmidt family tree on one of the helpful library computers.

Finally, he saw the name Beilschmidt, so Arthur clicked on it eagerly. Had he finally found something that would answer some of problems? Arthur had no choice but to disregard any of the generations before Gilbert's time, they probably wouldn't be much use. The helpful names would be Gilbert's parents, cousins, siblings and then his nieces and or nephews.

 _Geomar Beilschmidt_ and _Anna Weber_ were the names above one _Gilbert Beilschmidt._

Arthur couldn't suppress a smile. He was starting to feel good about the whole task. Eagerly, he looked around for more information. It appeared that _Alton Beilschmidt_ had been Gilbert's younger brother and he had married _Monika Klein_. That was important, if Alton and Monika had had children, they could possibly be the ancestors of the intimidating German that now shared Arthur's class.

Just as Arthur was about to scroll down to discover whether _Sofia Beilschmidt_ or _Jonas Beilschmidt_ had continued the family line, another name caught his eye. Arthur's eyes widened with shock- now _that_ made sense.

* * *

When Matthew had received a text from Arthur asking him to investigate his family, he had been sceptical- what did his parents have to do with the ghosts of Pluckley Village? _Everything,_ Arthur had explained his plan patiently, leaving Matthew confident in what he needed to do.

"Dad," Matthew approached his father after dinner, while Richard Jones was tidying up the table.

Richard didn't look up, but made a motion with his hand for Matthew to continue.

"I was wondering about our family," Matthew realised how terribly that could be interpreted and hurried to redeem himself. "I mean, our ancestors and stuff."

"You should probably talk to your mother about that Matthew," Richard replied. "If you want to know about your predecessors, I can't really help you. We're not- not…"

"No, I mean you and Alfred." Matthew insisted, he flushed when he realised what his dad had been trying to hint towards. "I'm just curious, okay Dad?"

Richard breathed a sigh of relief. "Right! We should have some maps up in my study, if you want to look at them. I'll fetch them for you once I've finished tidying."

"Thanks Dad!" Matthew made himself comfortable on the lounge chair to wait. He sent a quick message to Arthur- _I'm able to look at them!_ – and started reading one of his mother's magazines, the ones that he prided himself on being able to understand. Neither Alfred or Richard had ever taken the time to learn French but Matthew had absorbed every foreign word he had ever heard his mother utter- including the naughty ones.

Before he knew it, Richard had set down long rolls of paper on the coffee table. "I don't understand how you can read that stuff," he remarked, "It makes no sense!"

"That's because you don't speak French, Dad." Matthew replied, putting the magazine back where it came from. "Are they…?"

Richard nodded. "Yep! I also brought down your mother's, just in case. I mean, you may as well look at it as well while you're in the mood."

"Thanks Dad!" Matthew answered honestly. "I will."

"I'm glad you like this kind of stuff, Matthew." Richard commented. "It's always great to know where you came from. Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

"Yeah, I will." Matthew was already unwinding the first scroll, eager to start. He barely noticed when Richard left to go and help Alfred with some of his English homework.

Arthur had wanted to find out whether Alfred was of any relation to Carlos. It had seemed like an odd question; however, Arthur had hinted that it might have something to do with why Alfred could see Carlos while Gilbert remained invisible. Starting from the bottom and moving upwards, it became clear that all children after Alfred's father had been added in in black pen. It seemed that the original had been made by Richard when he was in his twenties, before he met the woman who had Alfred.

Along the way, Matthew noted that the Jones were related to the Kirkland's, second cousins or something. It wasn't unexpected, both families claimed to have lived in Pluckley Village for many generations. That was all that interested Matthew until he reached the section of the mid 1900's. Arthur's suspicion had been correct- Carlos was the brother of a woman who had married into the Jones' family!

Grabbing his phone, Matthew once again texted his friend. _Success! Carlos is Alfred's great-great-something Uncle! Is that what you wanted to know?_

The reply was instantaneous. _Perfect. Thanks Matthew._

 _No problem._ Matthew waited a few minutes to see whether he would be gifted with another reply, but it seemed like there would be no answer this time. He unrolled the Williams scroll of paper, and, unlike last time, started from the top. His side of the family were originally nobles in France, it seemed. At some point, Marianne and her sister Roxane had both moved out of the country- Marianne went to Canada, and Roxane made a life for herself in the USA.

From what Matthew knew, he could fill in the gaps of how they all came to live in England. Marianne had met Richard while visiting Roxane in the States, and then as their romance progressed, she followed him back to his home town, Pluckley Village. He was certain there was more too it, but Matthew was content with the information he knew. But wait- there was a third sister, a Chloe Bonnefoy… Matthew almost laughed. Could Francis Bonnefoy be his cousin?

"Why yes, yes he is." Marianne confirmed when he asked her. "Didn't you know, _amoureux_?"

Matthew shook his head. "No, I didn't."

Marianne laughed. "Well there you go. You have a lot of family in this little town Matthew."

* * *

"Why Artie?" Gilbert asked curiously as he accompanied Matthew and Arthur to school. "You always tell me to avoid that place."

"I just need you for a quick experiment before our lessons start, it will only take a few minutes." Arthur answered.

Gilbert pouted. "Figures. A whole day would have been too good to be true."

Matthew didn't have anything to say. Gilbert was the only thing making noise along the pathway, and without a doubt if Arthur hadn't decided to allow Gilbert to accompany them, the whole walk to school would have been in complete silence. The occasional cold gust of wind ruffled the Canadian's hair, making him shiver, and wish he wore more layers. A single glance at his companions showed that he was the only one affected by the cold. Matthew was used to colder weather than most however today seemed different. Perhaps it was the presence of Gilbert? Did a room's temperature really drop when a ghost was inside? He would have to ask Arthur. Arthur knew more about this type of thing.

Their companionable walk ended when Arthur grabbed Gilbert by the coat and pulled him behind a corner, just before they entered the sight of their school. Matthew didn't notice at first, and panicked momentarily as he tried to find where his friends had disappeared to. He found them quickly, but he was still filled with worried adrenaline. Alfred often told Matthew that he was a massive worrywart, which sadly, was quite accurate.

"So, Gilbert," Arthur was saying quietly to the highwayman. "I just want to introduce you to someone at my school. Nothing more, I just want to see what his reaction is."

Matthew had no choice but to assume that this person was possibly like him, able to see ghosts.

Arthur answered Matthew's question shortly after. "He may be able to see you, Gilbert, and I want to know whether he is like Matthew or Alfred."

Matthew didn't quite know what to think of that, but he suspected it had to do with how Alfred could only see Carlos. "Who is it Arthur? Francis?"

"That frog?"

Arthur's attention returned to Matthew, and with a sinking feeling the Canadian realised that his friend had probably temporarily forgotten that he was also there.

"Don't be silly," Arthur laughed, but Matthew didn't miss his clenched fists. "That fool never even sees what's right under his nose!"

"Okay, not Francis then." Matthew replied, unfazed.

Arthur faced Gilbert again. "This person gets to school a lot earlier than the rest of us, so he should be there. It will give us the opportunity to speak with him before the majority of the school gets there. I have to try and keep some shreds of my reputation."

Matthew tactfully decided not to mention the fact that by the time Arthur was fourteen, everyone thought he was out of his mind. There comes a certain age when believing in invisible flying creatures becomes the sign of mental instability… at least, Matthew was ashamed to admit, that's what he used to think. Even though he had admired Arthur's calm demeanour and intelligence, Matthew had found him unapproachable due to some of his beliefs. That uneasiness had still not completely disappeared, but the Canadian felt he was starting to understand and appreciate Arthur more every day.

The trio had just entered the school gates when they were approached by the flamboyant Frenchman. Arthur had clearly not expected to run into his rival, and was obviously disgruntled that his seemingly flawless plan had been disturbed by the mere presence of Francis Bonnefoy.

Matthew and Arthur locked eyes from either side of Gilbert. Neither were entirely sure what to do. Matthew shrugged, because he didn't know exactly what Arthur wanted Gilbert to do, the Canadian would have to take one for the team and occupy Francis's attention until Arthur had finished embarrassing himself through some sort of social experiment. Matthew wasn't entirely put out, ever since he had learnt that Francis was in fact his cousin he had wanted to have a serious conversation with the flirty blond.

Making what was hopefully a directive hand gesture behind his back, Matthew turned to completely face Francis. "Francis, how have you been…?"

* * *

Arthur admired Matthew's self-sacrifice, and was more grateful than he would have liked to admit. Arthur knew for a fact that if he had been the one to talk to Francis so the ghost and Matthew could carry out _his_ experiment by themselves, and if you looked at Gilbert's track record for following rules, and Matthew's original lack of understanding of what the test entailed, the pair were highly unlikely to produce reliable results. _And_ of course, he would probably be arrested by police at the end of it all for murder.

Arthur made the mental note to buy Matthew some of that maple syrup he liked to repay him for his noble efforts. Yes, he was that thankful to be spared from that French frog's obnoxious laughter… which made Arthur think.

"You and Birdie were acting like that was a life or death situation. _Kesesesese!_ " Gilbert laughed at his own joke.

"At least it isn't that dreadful ohonhonhon," Arthur reasoned, sarcastically replicating Francis's unique laugh. He put no real effort into it, so the end result was some weird cross between a cough and a chuckle.

"Huh?"

Realising he had spoken aloud, Arthur absentmindedly pat the dark sleeve of Gilbert's long coat as he scanned the grounds for that tell-tale slicked back hair. "It's nothing."

"Artie," Gilbert said in all seriousness. "Who exactly are we looking for?"

"He's a class mate of mine, he only transferred to our school this year." Arthur explained.

Sure enough, across the playground, sitting at a bench mulling over a stack of papers, wearing simple reading glasses was none other than Ludwig Beilschmidt.

"Oh, there he is. Come on, this way." Arthur paused only to realise that his ghostly companion had not accompanied him, but was frozen to his spot.

Gilbert's crimson eyes were wide with shock, and he looked paler- if that was even possible. He uttered one word, a word so quiet that Arthur had to both learn closer and strain his ears to be able to understand.

 _"Alton."_

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Cora

 **Merry Christmas everyone! I hope Santa found everyone and that you all are enjoying your holidays (if you are on holidays, that is.)** **I'm so sorry for terribly delayed update, a month really isn't any where near my weekly updating goal! However, I'm sure you all can understand when I say that December is always a crazily busy month. I should be back into my weekly updating schedule soon, and if I can organised myself well enough, that may turn into a two chapters a week while I'm not as busy. This is just something I would _like_ to do, but whether it actually happens, we'll see. I will definitely have weekly updates though! **

**Thank you to** Awesome Maple Leaves **,** miss myisteri **and** pieluvr **for following my story! I really am thankful. Thank you also to** Awesome Maple Leaves **and** Jace Wilt **for reviewing. Sorry I couldn't get this chapter out sooner! I hope it was worth the wait!**

 **I'm not entirely confident in how this chapter worked out, but I haven't been writing as much recently so it's possible that there are things that are wrong and/or don't make sense. If there are, please let me know so I can correct any mistakes.**


	9. Chapter 9

I know, I know. I couldn't keep my promise. I feel really bad, and hopefully none of you were _dying_ to know what happened, I didn't receive any angry reviews on that subject, which is a good sign but you never know. Putting my guilty feelings aside, I just need get this out in the open- **I'm going to rewrite this story.** This isn't because of negative reviews, I've had none of the sort (which am _incredibly_ grateful for, everyone has been so very nice to me!) The closest I've had to criticism are these three reviews-

 **In chapter 5 you wrote 'ambio' or something like that. I'm pretty sure that's not an spanish word (Carlos said it), I would know, I'm Argentinian! I think you meant to write Amigo, but I might be wrong.** (Zeivira, chapter six)

 **Please do not use accents. I have tried using accents. It's a terrible idea. It detracts from the story and if done wrong, can be very, very annoying to the readers. It's best just to leave it up to the reader to imagine the accent. Visible accents generally make a story look "scrappy", but only when done wrong... which it usually is. So... Yeah. Just... don't. Please.** (Soul Sister, chapter six)

 **America and Carlos related? even if both of them are american countries i would imagine Antonio more likely to be related to the Cuban, after all they kinda are from the same "family". Canada and America aren't blood brothers? but then how come that Cuba thought they were the same person? I would expect them to be similar because of canon yet not exactly the same.** (Zeivira, chapter eight)

Actually, when I look at it that way… I realise that a) all three of these seem to end with a positive note, so I take their reviews as constructive and not at all offensive and b) Zeivira is the author of two out of three- you're my main critic, and I'm very grateful you've taken the time to point out things, no matter how small. I'm beating around the bush, so I apologise. What I'm trying to say is that **negative reviews- flaming or not, had nothing to do with the decision to do a rewrite.**

There are **several plot holes,** and things I needed to work on, in fact, over those weeks where I said I'd be pushing out two chapters a week (epic fail…) I was actually filling out page after page of plans for the rewrite- character development, plot development… everything! I mentioned a while ago that I had several arcs I'd thought of, but I realised that it would be too much to cram into the one story. Have any of you read Terminally Introverted's **Hospiverse** series? (If you haven't, I would strongly recommend you to go and look at some of his/her works.) He/She is one of my favourite authors on this site, so I was really disappointed when he/she stopped writing. My point is, the Hospiverse series covers several characters' perspectives in different fics, while intricately weaving all of them together… I loved them. That's kind of what I'm hoping to achieve with my Spiritus Urbs story.

The first chapter of the re-write should be finished and up on FanFiction by the end of February, and I'll put up another AN here to let my readers know. I really hope you guys will follow me over to the re-write, and you'll enjoy it just as much as this, hopefully even more. Thank you for coming this far with me, it wasn't a long time, I know, but it still felt like so much longer!

 **Until that first chapter comes up, I'm saying goodbye.**

 **~Cora~**


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